


Moonlit Altar

by Little_Inkstone



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-08
Updated: 2015-04-08
Packaged: 2018-03-21 21:56:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3705803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Inkstone/pseuds/Little_Inkstone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once a year a sacrifice must be made to assure the prosperity of Belle’s homeland.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Moonlit Altar

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this while half asleep, and after a quick read through I thought I’d share it anyway.

Belle firmly clutched the solid ivory arrow; the thing that had sealed her fate, the thing that had taken her destiny out of her hands.  It had been found stabbed into the wood of her bedroom’s door a week previously, and she hadn’t let it out of her sight since, worried her Papa would try to foist her burden on to another.  It had been a year’s time since a white arrow had appeared lodged into a maiden’s door, everyone knew it meant one thing; the girl had been chosen to be the meal of the Dark One that lived in the mountains above the village.

It was a deal that had been made long before Belle was born, and would continue long after she had become his meal.  In return her people’s lands would remain untouched by famine or plague, drought or flood.  For as long as anyone could remember no girl had actually been devoured.  A champion would accompany her, wielding a blade passed down from generation to generation said to be hewed from moonlight itself.

No such champion would be coming with Belle.  She had snuck away before Gaston, her betrothed, could join her.  Privately she wondered what it said about her that she’d rather be eaten by a monster, then be forced to marry a handsome, but dull, man, to complete the ritual.  The maiden was either eaten, or she was married, there was no other choice.

That fact that rankled Belle to no end; she had always declared herself the master of her own fate.  Only to have that declaration first ignored by her Papa, and then completely shattered by an arrow sent from the darkest being in the land.  So she had taken back her right to choose, even if her choices where limited.

The moon was covered by a thin layer of clouds as she neared the place that would become her tomb, the eerie light helping to guide her path through the barren landscape of cold rock.  Lifting her white silk skirts she swallowed thickly, her pace increasing as she walked through the tight crevice that split a large boulder, that had been blocking her path, in two.  On the other side she came to what could only be described as a great stone bowl carved from the mountain the only entrance the crack she had just squeezed through.  In the centre stood an imposing altar, intricately carved with symbols and designs, which in a different time and place Belle would have loved to decrypt.

“No brave sir knight to accompany you on this cruel evening?”  A sinister voice trilled from the shadows.

She gasped, taking a step back, before she composed herself, finding her voice.  “I am alone.”  Belle said, hating the waver in her speech.

The creature remained in the shadows, watching her through narrowed eyes.  It blinked slowly when she bit her lip nervously, unnerving her further.  Unsure about what was to come next, she slowly made her way to the altar, keeping her eyes locked with the beast still making its home in the dark.

“Was no lad brave enough to come and banish the Dark One for another year?  Were the men of your village so… _cowardly_ as to leave such a young and supple maiden to the beast?”  It asked dangerously as she seated herself upon the platform.  If she hadn’t known better she would have thought the Dark One sounded angry, but such a thought was madness.  Then again, she had willing walked into it’s den, ready and willing to be devoured; perhaps she was a bit mad as it was.

“I chose to come alone.”  Belle replied, tilting her chin up defiantly.

The deep and throaty laugh caught her off guard, so different from the shrill voice that had been interrogating her.  Finally the monster stepped from the shadows, just as the moon peaked out from behind it’s cloudy refuge revealing the Dark One to her.

She was surprised for the second time that night, a man walking from the darkness.  Belle wasn’t sure what she had been expecting, the stories made it sound as if the Dark One was a great and terrible thing, with eight heads and teeth like daggers.  Although his visage was strange, gleaming scales covering his face and hands, blackened nails tipping his fingers, he was dressed in fine silks and leathers, with striking features.  Belle was sure that in the right light, even with his scales, he was quite handsome.

Still, she couldn’t let his appearance fool her.  By the end of this night he would still be making a meal of her, it didn’t matter that he’d be taking smaller bites rather than swallowing her whole.

He danced closer, for that was the only way to describe the way he moved, humming as he studied her.  “What an odd thing you are.”  He mumbled.  Finally he clapped his hands and turned away.  “Well, I’m sorry to say you won’t be getting gobbled up tonight, dearie.”

“I won’t?”  She asked, dumfounded.

“You won’t.”

“But what about my village!”  Belle cried, hopping down from the altar to chase after him.

“Well, you should have thought of your village before you came to me without a champion.”  He mocked, turning on her so quickly she almost fell taking a step back.

“Please.”  She begged.  “There must be something.  Everyone knows that the Dark One is supposed to accept a maidenly sacrifice in exchange for prosperity.”

“Sorry, dearie, I’m not the kind of Dark One that goes around eating whoever throws themselves at me.  Who knows where you’ve been.”  He sniffed haughtily.

If Belle had been thinking clearly, and not begging a dark monster, that was turning out to be more like a man then expected; to _eat_ her of all things, she might have felt offended by his words.

“Please,”  She repeated.  “I’ll do anything.”

“ _Anything?_ ”

“Yes, anything.”  Belle nodded.

He studied her quietly for a moment before seemingly coming to a decision.  “Close your eyes.”  He instructed softly.  She did so; unsure of what was to come next.  In the few seconds she waited a multitude of possibilities flashed through her mind, what didn’t occur to her was what actually happened.

First, Belle felt one of his hands cup her jaw tilting he chin just slightly, before she felt the warm brush of lips against hers.  She gasped, pulling back as a heated blush stained her cheeks.

“W-what are you doing?”  Belle whispered.

“There is more than one way to be devoured.”  He murmured.  “Unless, you object?”  The shy hesitance in his voice struck something deep within her and she smiled ever so slightly.

It was so unlike anything she had been expecting from the Dark One.  He was layered even from their short time together she could see that.  He wore a mask to keep everyone away.  And something in Belle called to her to push past his layers to who he really was.  She really must be mad.

“No, I don’t object.”  She replied.

Closing her eyes once more she leaned into him, expecting his kiss this time.  He was gentle with her at first, his lips teasing hers with sipping kisses and playful nips, but slowly it changed.  His tongue boldly ran along her bottom lip making her gasp and then sigh when he deepened the kiss, her arms coming up to twine around his neck.

It seemed as if he kissed her for hours seeking out all of the spots that made her moan and shiver, encouraging her to do the same.  Finally he ended the kiss lightly biting her bottom lip and pulling, before letting go to rest his forehead against hers, the both of them breathing heavily.

“It seems you have been thoroughly devoured.”  He rumbled, leaving her embrace to straighten his brocade vest and smooth is wild untamed hair.  “Your village should be fine for another year.”

Belle nodded silently, gently pressing the tips of her fingers to her kiss swollen lips.

“What’s the matter?  Were the beast’s kisses that hard to endure?”  He asked snidely turning away from her, his mask once more firmly in place, the man she had glimpsed before hidden away.  “Or is it that no noble knight or kitchen boy has ever kissed you like that?”

“I’ve never been kissed at all.”  She whispered dazedly.

He cleared his throat, caught off guard by her confession, thankful he was facing away from her so that she didn’t have a chance to see the blush that was mostly likely visible even through his scaled skin.  “Yes, well, now you have.”  He said quickly.  Striding away from her, momentarily forgetting he could easily poof away in a cloud of magic.

“Wait!”  She called after him, halting him in his tracks.

“Yes?”  He asked gruffly.

“I’d like to at least know the name of the man that has my first kiss.”  Belle said.  “It doesn’t feel right simply thinking of you as the Dark One.”  She added to herself unaware he could hear her.

“Rumpelstiltskin.”

“What?”

“My name, dearest.  It’s Rumpelstiltskin.”  He clarified.

Belle mouthed the name to herself a few times before smiling softly.  “Rumpelstiltskin, I like it.”


End file.
